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Self-fertile kiwi tree or a male and female pair

Updated: October 2026

You have room for one vine, or you already own a female that flowers and never fruits. Those are different problems, and a second random kiwi tree fixes neither of them. By the end you should know when one named plant is enough, which male belongs with which female, and what to do with a title that only says male or female. Pruning stays on the [how to grow](/hub/trees-and-palms/kiwi-tree/sub/kiwi-tree-how-to-grow) page. Pot prices stay on the [buying guide](/hub/trees-and-palms/kiwi-tree/sub/kiwi-tree-buying-guide). The [kiwi tree comparison](/hub/trees-and-palms/kiwi-tree) is the six amazon.co.uk listings. The Royal Horticultural Society is the source for the pairs below. There is no pollination trial of these ASINs.

You have room for one vine, or you already own a female that flowers and never fruits. Those are different problems, and a second random kiwi tree fixes neither of them.

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Three kinds of plant

A male kiwi flowers and does not fruit. You buy it only as pollen. A female fruits only when compatible pollen reaches the flowers. A self-fertile cultivar can crop from one plant. If your vine has flowered for a couple of seasons and set nothing, sex is the first explanation, ahead of feed. You cannot sex a plant from the leaves. Flowers differ when they open. A missing label, which reviewers mention on the unnamed Carbeth 9 cm pot, leaves you watching a flowering season. The RHS allows three or four years before fruit. If the plant has never been named, a missed crop is not evidence you can read.

Pairs that work

Hayward is the familiar fuzzy female. Pair it with Tomuri, or with Atlas, which Gardeners' World also names. Space them about 3–4.5 m apart. Jenny is the self-fertile route if you will not plant that male. Ken's Red is Actinidia arguta and wants an arguta male such as Weiki. Victoriana says one Weiki can cover up to seven female baby kiwis, not standard-size fuzzy fruit. Treat that as Victoriana’s claim, not an RHS ratio. The RHS pairs Weiki with Ken's Red. It does not pair Weiki with Hayward. The Carbeth listing at about £9.99 whose title says Actinidia Jumbo is the case to refuse as a Hayward pollinator. The body describes Weiki and baby kiwis, and the word male is not printed. You still do not know whether the pot contains Weiki or a Jumbo.

When one plant is enough

One plant is enough when the label names a self-fertile cultivar. On RHS pages those names include Jenny and Solissimo for fuzzy fruit, and Issai for the smooth berry. Jenny is H4 and a larger vine. Issai is H5 and about 2.5–4 m. The best kiwi tree page chooses among those jobs. If that name is printed, you do not have to buy a male. The only kept listing that meets the rule is Carbeth Jenny at about £9.99, self-fertile, 6 m by 4 m, 3.1 from 14. Do not add a male for a percentage the RHS does not give. Issai is not a labelled plant in this set. The unnamed Carbeth pot asks if it is self-pollinating and leaves the answer blank.

If you already bought an unnamed tree

The la iberica plants are the situation in miniature. One title says female, 150 cm, about £21.75. Two titles say male, about £21.75 and about £26.10. None names a cultivar. Putting the female next to the male looks like a pair, and it might still be a fuzzy female beside a berry male. The yellow male’s colour field says Lemon Tree. If your vine is unnamed and has not flowered, buying the other sex as another unnamed tree does not create a known pair. A male flower has no ovary. A female flower needs pollen of the same species. A labelled Hayward with no male within about 3–4.5 m needs Tomuri or Atlas, not Weiki. One wall and no plant yet means Jenny or Issai.

Common questions

Can I grow one kiwi?
Yes, if the cultivar is self-fertile. Jenny and Solissimo cover fuzzy fruit. Issai covers the smooth berry. Any other female needs a male of the same species. A listing that only says kiwi does not qualify as the one plant. In this comparison, Carbeth Jenny at about £9.99 is the listing that actually makes the self-fertile claim under a name.
Will a male kiwi tree produce fruit?
No. A male is pollen. The la iberica titles that say male, at about £21.75 and about £26.10, are not fruiting trees, however tall the 150 cm line sounds. Flowers on a male are the point of the plant. Fruit will not follow them. If the page you ordered promised a crop from a male, that description does not match how kiwi sex works.
Which male goes with Hayward?
Tomuri is the RHS partner, and Gardeners' World also names Atlas. Both are for fuzzy females, not for kiwi berries. Plant them about 3–4.5 m apart. Do not substitute Weiki. Victoriana and the RHS both keep Weiki with baby kiwis such as Ken's Red. The Jumbo/Weiki amazon listing is not a clean Tomuri either.
Will Weiki pollinate a fuzzy kiwi?
No. Weiki is an arguta male for female kiwi berries. A fuzzy female such as Hayward needs a deliciosa male. Standing Weiki beside Hayward gives you two vines and the same empty crop. The body text on the about £9.99 Carbeth page that mentions up to seven female baby kiwis is that berry job, and the Jumbo title on the same page means you should not trust the pot without a clearer label.
How close should the pair be?
About 3–4.5 m, the RHS spacing used for planting two kiwis. They need to flower at the same time, which is another reason to stay inside one species and use the named partners. Closer than that and you are pruning two root systems that want the same wires. A male several gardens away is not a plan you can rely on, even if bees cross a fence in a good year.
Why has my vine flowered and not fruited?
If it is male, that is the expected result. If it is an unnamed or female plant with no compatible male within a few metres, pollen is the gap. If the names already match, look at age, a late frost on the shoots, and bad weather in the flowering week before you buy another plant. Three or four years is a normal wait. Leaves will not tell you the sex. The label, or the flower once it opens, will.

Related pages

Sources

Public UK sources from the research digest, used for this page in October 2026. Prices, stars and review counts are from the amazon.co.uk listings written up on 20 October 2026. This is not a taste test or a hardiness trial.

  1. RHS, How to grow kiwi fruit (retrieved October 2026)
  2. RHS, Actinidia deliciosa 'Jenny' (retrieved October 2026)
  3. RHS, Actinidia arguta 'Issai' (retrieved October 2026)
  4. RHS, Actinidia deliciosa Solissimo (retrieved October 2026)
  5. GOV.UK, Issuing plant passports to trade plants in Great Britain (retrieved October 2026)
  6. Defra, Plant passport FAQ (retrieved October 2026)
  7. Gardeners' World, Kiwis grow guide (retrieved October 2026)